


You went back in?

by Quakerlass



Category: Broadchurch, Masters of Sex
Genre: Angst, Asexual Alec, Asexual Character, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, no beta we die like alec's microwaved tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-27 13:29:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20761121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quakerlass/pseuds/Quakerlass
Summary: New arrival in town Dr. Bill Masters thinks he's being followed. Is he imagining things or is someone really out to get him. It's down to DI Hardy to find out.





	You went back in?

**Author's Note:**

> This whole fic came about because I suddenly imagined Alec saying `you want back in?` in a confused and annoyed Scottish accent and I needed to know why.

“Sir,” came the desk sergeant’s voice as Alec walked into the station that morning. “We’ve got someone in room 3 who wants to speak to an officer; he’s been waiting a while.”  
“Where’s Miller?” asked Alec. “I’ve got things to do.”  
“They got a shout on the AJC case, they’ve all gone. And there’s been a major crash on the A35 near Bridport so most of uniform have been called out to help with that.”  
Alec sighed, “Ok, who is it and what do they want?”  
“It’s that new guy, the sex doctor. Apparently he’s being followed.”  
Sex doct…? Thought Alec. Then he remembered Miller talking about him, or more like swooning over him, when he first moved to town. She’d said something about a sex study. Alec hadn’t taken much notice. He didn’t really like gossip, preferring to make up his own mind. Although all this talk of weird studies and being followed didn’t make him keen to meet the doctor. But after some more grumbling he walked into room 3 anyway.  
Alec wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but the handsome man in smart suit and bowtie, with neatly brushed; slightly greying, dark hair wasn’t it.  
He froze for a moment. Attraction at first sight was a rare thing for him and it caught him out. After a moments awkward silence Alec’s brain came back on line.  
“You must be Doctor.” he stopped realising he had no idea of the doctor’s name.  
“Doctor Masters, call me Bill.”  
“DI Hardy, uh, Alec,” Alec found himself saying. “I understand you think you’re being followed.”  
Bill explained why he thought he was being followed. The details of a car which always seemed to be around. Post which seemed to have been opened or was late arriving or never appeared, strange phone calls.  
Alec tried to be polite but his feelings must have been written on his face because Bill said, “If I was you I wouldn’t believe me either. A stranger to the town with my reputation.”  
Alec blinked, surprised at this straight forward admission. “It’s not that Doctor, it's just, I’m not sure what you think we can do. We don’t have much of a budget here.”  
“Nothing I guess,” answered Bill. “I just wondered if you had any similar reports.”  
“Nothing I’m aware of. But I’ll look into it and let you know if I hear anything.” Alec pulled out a business card and passed it to Bill. “These are my numbers if you think of anything or if something else happens.”  
“Thank you Alec,” smiled Bill walking out of the station just as Ellie and the rest of the team entered.  
“Was that Doctor Masters?” she asked Alec looking back out of the door after him. “What did he want?”  
“He thinks he’s being followed.” Answered Alec shortly. “Now what’s happened on the case and why didn’t you call me.” He continued as they walked up to his office. 

It was a few days later when Alec next heard from Bill. He was heading home when his phone rang. He didn’t recognise the number so answered warily.  
“DI Hardy.”  
“Ah, Alec. It’s Doctor Masters, Bill. I was wondering if you could come over. There’s been another incident.”  
To most people he would have sounded calm but Alec could hear the tremor of nerves.  
“No problem, I’ve just left the station so I should be there in a few minutes.”  
“Thank you for coming,” said Bill, answering the door only moments after Alec’s knock.  
“What’s happened?”  
“This was sitting in my doorway when I got home tonight.” Bill pointed to a large wreath shaped like a cross with a ribbon reading RIP Bill Masters sitting in the hallway.  
“That’s good,” stated Alec.  
Bill looked at him in surprise.  
“It’s a mistake by whoever did this. We can trace where this came from and hopefully get credit card details or CCTV.”  
“I hadn’t thought of that,” said Bill looking relieved. “It was quite a shock to see that sitting in my door way.”  
“No problem,” Alec smiled slightly. “I’ll arrange for someone to take this away as evidence.”  
“Would you like to come in for a drink?” asked Bill.  
Alec hesitated before deciding a drink with the handsome and intriguing Doctor sounded a lot better than his empty house.  
It was several hours later when he found himself heading home after some fascinating discussions with Bill. Who was not the arrogant doctor he had partly been expecting. Bill had invited Alec out for a meal the next evening and Alec had accepted.  
The meal went well and they had several more meals and drinks over the following week. Not dates no matter what Ellie said. Alec would have preferred her not to have found out but the day Bill had turned up to the station with lunch for them had helped fuel the rumour mill.

Around two weeks after first meeting Bill, Alec had a horrific nightmare at 3.00 am and, after a few moments being grateful he was at home in bed, he knew he wasn’t getting any more sleep and decided to get up and go for a walk.  
He wasn’t thinking about where he was walking but wasn’t too surprised to find his footsteps had lead him towards Bill’s house. He frowned as he got closer. Bill’s house was set back a little from the road and it looked like there were lights on. As Alec got to the end of the drive he realised he wasn’t seeing lights, the house was on fire.  
He quickly pulled out his phone and dialled 999, ordering all services as he ran towards the house yelling for Bill.  
Glancing through the broken glass in the front door, in a hallway wreathed in smoke and flames he saw Bill lying near the door to his office. Realising he would never get through the flames round the front door, Alec ran round the back hoping Bill would have left his back door open as he usually did (even though Alec told him not to). Breathing a sigh of relief at seeing the back door was open he went in and managed to drag the semi-conscious Bill outside just as the fire engine arrived, quickly followed by an ambulance and several police cars.

Alec hesitated as the paramedics took charge of Bill, torn between staying at the house and making sure everything was done properly, and going with Bill, who he could already see was going to be a bad patient by the way he was refusing to hand over the briefcase he’d been clutching as Alec had pulled him out.  
The arrival of Ellie settled the matter. Alec trusted her to make sure the scene was properly processed and after a quick explanation of what had happened Alec went in the ambulance with Bill, waving off the paramedic who wanted to check him over, insisting they focus on Bill.

They wouldn’t let Alec into the room as Bill was checked out. ‘Relatives only.’ So he insisted on sitting outside, worried that whoever had set the fire might come back for another try. It was sometime later when Bill was moved to a private room, that Alec was finally allowed in to see him.  
“Alec,” Bill smiled, his voice sounding croaky and dry.  
“How are you feeling?” asked Alec. “Would you like a drink?”  
“I’d like a whiskey, but they won’t let me have any,” Bill grumbled.  
Alec smiled, “can’t help with that I’m afraid. Are they keeping you in?”  
“At least overnight. Don’t know what I’m going to do then. I guess the house must be badly damaged.”  
“I’m afraid so, Miller called me a while ago for an update. Forensics are still working the scene.” Alec paused for a moment. “You could stay at mine if you like,” he mumbled. “It’s small but cosy and would be safe for you. Whoever’s doing this is seriously escalating. Or you could go to a safe house,” Alec finished quickly. “Don’t feel obliged.”  
“If you don’t mind, that sounds good. Better than a safe house anyway,” answered Bill. “I was lucky I was outside when the fire started, I was having trouble sleeping and…”  
“Wait a minute,” interrupted Alec. “If you were outside when the fire started why were you in the hallway when I arrived?”  
“I had to go in to get my briefcase.” Answered Bill calmly.  
“You went back in?” questioned Alec incredulously. “For some paperwork?”  
“Not paperwork, my research. Most of it is kept at the hospital but I’d bought the most recent case study back with me.”  
“You could have been killed,” Alec said, trying to keep calm.  
“I was fine,” Bill brushed him off. “You rescued me.”  
Alec stared at him for a moment before deciding to stop the conversation before he said something they’d both regret. He stood up and looking out the door said, “There will be a unformed officer here at all times. You don’t go anywhere on your own. Someone will escort you to my place when the hospital discharges you and will stay with you until I get back.”  
“Alec,” Bill wanted to explain, to try and make sure Alec knew why his work was so important to him, but it was too late.  
“I’ve got to get back to the station. I’ll try and visit later to keep you updated if I can.” And with that Alec was gone. 

He was like a whirlwind back at the station, wanting to know what progress had been made. The person who had ordered the wreath had paid cash and the shop had no CCTV. However a local camera had picked up three cars that matched Bill’s description of the car that had followed him driving near the florist at the time the wreath had been ordered. Local shops were being canvassed to see if anyone had bought items that could be used to make the petrol bomb that forensics reported had been used to start the fire.  
It was late when Alec arrived back home. He was pleased to see the marked patrol car outside and stopped to have a word with the PC before heading in.  
He was surprised to see Bill still up making soup.  
“You should be resting,” said Alec.  
“So should you,” replied Bill. “When did you last eat?”  
“That’s not the point,” grumbled Alec.  
“That’s what I thought,” said Bill putting bowls out.  
Alec sighed but he was actually hungry and he realised it would be nice to eat with someone.  
“How did you know I was coming home anyway?” asked Alec.  
“Ellie called me,” said Bill.  
“I should have guessed,” Alec shook his head as if annoyed at this but Bill could tell he was actually pleased.  
They sat down at the small table and Alec bought Bill up to date on the case.  
“As we discussed there are various groups who don’t like my research,” said Bill in answer to Alec’s question of if he’d thought of anyone who’d attack him. “There are still people who think that sex is evil and some other scientists who don’t agree with my methods. But I can’t imagine any of them following me here to try and kill me.”  
“The whole thing with the wreath seemed pretty personal,” said Alec. “Any, uh, unhappy love affairs I should know about.” He wished he didn’t have to ask and he wished he wasn’t worried about the answer. He liked Bill, really liked him and whenever that had happened in the past work had always come along and ruined it.  
“No,” said Bill. “There was someone, back in the States but it ended amicably.”  
Alec nodded, trying not to show how relieved at that he was. “Well hopefully the team will have made some progress by now,” he said standing up.  
“You’re going back to the station?” asked Bill.  
“You’ll be safe,” said Alec. “The unformed officer will stay outside all night.”  
“That’s not what I meant. You need to rest.”  
“I’ll be fine. Feel free to use the bed. If I make it back later I’ll sleep on the sofa.” And with that Alec headed back to the station before Bill could argue anymore. 

Alec was pleased when he got back to the station, good progress had been made. All the suspect cars had been traced except for one and the team were checking CCTV to try and find a picture of the driver or trace where it had gone. A search of the DVLA showed the car was still registered to the previous owner and had no tax or MOT.  
He stayed at the station for several more hours checking on leads until Ellie told him to leave. Alec knew that with the team’s efficiency it wouldn’t be long before they had traced the car, and he was really tired, so he headed for home. He was half asleep by the time he got back which he blamed for the reason he didn’t notice the police car outside and got into bed having forgotten Bill was there.  
The following morning his first thought was how much warmer and nicer his bed seemed that morning. It was several minutes before he opened his eyes to see Bill, apparently still asleep, lying next to him. Alec’s eyes went wide and his first thought was to jump out of bed and pretend this had never happed. But he didn’t want to. It was nice lying there with Bill. He was just beginning to panic about that realisation when Bill woke up.  
“Good morning,” he smiled. “I’m glad you didn’t decide to sleep on the couch.”  
“Uh, I’ve got to go to work,” Alec blurted and in a few minutes was gone.  
Bill sighed, he knew Alec had intimacy problems; after all it took one to know one, and he knew that wouldn’t make it easy for them. But he also knew how much he liked Alec and wanted to keep him.

“Alright,” asked Ellie when Alec walked into the station.  
“I’m fine,” he answered.  
“And Bill is he ok, recovering?”  
“He’s fine,” Alec answered shortly, “now how are we getting on tracing that car?”  
Ellie desperately wanted to ask more, seeing Alec go on actual dates (no matter what he said, they were dates) and inviting Bill to stay with him, not just sending him to a safe house fascinated her. But she also knew that Alec would only tell her what he wanted her to know when he wanted her to know it.  
And that would be quicker once they’d solved the case.

They were just about to question the previous owner of the car they thought was being used by the arsonist.  
The guy told them he’d sold the car for cash and the only details he had of the buyer was a first name. However he also remembered what he looked like and helped the sketch artist produce a picture which Alec took home to show Bill.  
Bill stared at the picture in shock. “I know him. He’s the husband of one of the participants in my study. His name is Jeff something and he’s wife’s name is Pat. We’ll have the full details in the records at the hospital. I make it a policy to only know first names.”  
A quick phone call to Ellie and a check of the police computer showed exactly where their suspect lived and he was quickly arrested.

At first he refused to answer any questions but as Alec kept talking about Bill he finally cracked. “It’s that bastard’s fault my wife left me.”  
Alec raised his eyebrows. “Are you saying he had an affair with her?”  
“No,” Jeff muttered, “she said,” he stopped.  
“She said,” Alec encouraged.  
“She said he showed her she could get better sex somewhere else ok.” Jeff mumbled head down.  
“So what you’re saying is, instead of learning how to please your wife you decided to kill someone.”  
“I didn’t want to kill him. I only wanted to scare him. To make him sorry.” Jeff blustered.  
“Not a good enough defence I’m afraid,” said Alec. “You are under arrest for attempted murder. I suggest you get a lawyer.”

“Well we can’t do much more tonight,” Said Alec to Bill as he walked in to the house. “We’ve got to wait for his lawyer and that won’t be till tomorrow.” He sat down on the sofa with a sigh.  
“Would you like something to eat?” asked Bill.  
“Nah, I’m fine,” answered Alec. “I just need some sleep. I’ll uh, sleep out here tonight. I’m sorry about last night.” He finished not meeting Bill’s eyes.  
“Alec its fine, it was nice to sleep with someone again and I mean sleep. I wasn’t going to jump on you if that’s what you’re worried about. I know my reputation precedes me.” Bill finished slightly sourly.  
“It’s not that, it’s me I’m not.” Alec stopped, not sure how to say what he felt. Fuck he hated talking about feelings. “I’ve never felt about people the way others seem to. I mean, uh,” he hesitated. “I’m not always attracted to people and when I am I don’t always want sex and you’re well, a sex expert and what are you going to want with me?” he finished in a rush.  
“Alec, being asexual is nothing to be ashamed of,” said Bill moving to sit next to him.  
“What?” Alec frowned, now looking directly at him.  
“Asexuality. When you’re not sexually attracted to others. Or well, it’s a bit more complicated than that, but I can give you some reading on it. My research doesn’t just cover heterosexual people. And Alec I like you, regardless of whether you want sex with me or not and regardless if whether you’re sexually attracted to me or not.” Bill finished with a smile.  
Alec stared at him, his mouth hanging open.  
“Look,” said Bill. “Why don’t we get some sleep? You’ve got a case to bring to court and I’m tired. We can have a proper discussion on this tomorrow.”  
Alec nodded, grateful to avoid more embarrassing conversations for a while. Even if it was good to know there were actual words for what he felt. 

Over the next few weeks, as evidence for the case was gathered and Bill’s house was repaired, Bill stayed with Alec. Both of them enjoyed the comfort of living and sleeping with someone else without the pressure of wondering what the other person wanted. The case was so water tight that Jeff’s lawyer suggested he make a deal with a reduced sentence of 3 years in jail, counselling and a restraining order.  
Once Bill’s house was repaired he rented it out and continued to live with Alec. They discussed his feelings, despite some embarrassment and had sex sometimes which Alec liked but they both mostly enjoyed just having someone there for them.

**Author's Note:**

> ok, i know that's not entirely true about Bill's previous relationships but for the sake of this fic let's pretend it is ok. 
> 
> If you like this ship check out the illogical husbands blog on tumblr.
> 
> If you like my writing check out my quakerlass fics tag on tumblr!


End file.
